Choose to be Present in Every Moment – It Can Save Your Life

Several days ago I almost became witness to an awful accident. I say almost because in a split second the individual  involved in this near death accident went from being disconnected to her surroundings to being connected and present to the moment. It was actually more like she was “pushed” into being present from those around her. A life lesson I sense she will not forget. I was at a major intersection here in the heart of Los Angeles, where there are six lanes of traffic traveling west and east and four lanes of traffic traveling north and south. This intersection is near my home and I cross it several days a week on foot.

Be Present

I was waiting at the traffic light along with ten other people, to cross from south to north when several alarms and loud sirens started to wail. You could hear them for quite a while yet I was unsure what direction the sirens were coming from and where exactly they were headed.   The light turned red and the walking sign came on for pedestrians to cross. Most of us stayed standing on the corner because we heard the sirens and were waiting for the emergency vehicles to make their appearance.  One young woman; however, did not hear the sirens.

She had her headphones on. She must have been blaring music cause I noticed her earlier dancing and snapping her fingers singing along to whatever music was pouring out of her headphones into her ears.  When the walking sign signaled she was the ONLY ONE who started to cross, completely unaware of the sirens  and their fast approach.  She entered the street as many of us watched  when suddenly an ambulance turned the corner at the opposite end of the intersection.  In panic, several people including myself jetted out into the street and ran to her from behind to stop her from crossing.  She was definitely going to get hit. I am not sure what came across the few of us that felt the impulse to attempt to beat a fast-moving ambulance, but we did.  One man got to her first and the rest of us stopped and returned to the curb holding our breath.  At this point the ambulance was fast upon us and all the young woman and courageous man could do was just STOP. They stopped in the center of the street.  When he grabbed her arm from  behind she had pulled her headphones out of her ears and now they both just stood there like deer in headlights.  The ambulance saw the two of them ahead of time and weaved around and quickly raced past them. Everyone exhaled releasing  fear.

Fabric of Life Angel

The girl began to cry and thanked the man wholeheartedly while shoving the earphones into her pocket.  As the light changed everyone resumed their original course as is what  naturally happens in a city. Only this time my guess is everyone changed a bit on the inside. They thought differently about paying attention and being aware of their surroundings.  Recognizing that when you do chose to be connected to your environment and walk in presence – the universe seems to grant time needed to make wise choices. Everyone on that corner now knows that choosing “Presence” can save your life.

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